Spain’s Princess Cristina Named as Suspect in Corruption Probe

Princess Cristina, the daughter of
Spain’s King Juan Carlos, was named an official suspect in a
corruption investigation relating to her husband Inaki Urdangarin’s business activities.

Judge Jose Castro, who is investigating the case, told the
princess to make a statement at a court in Palma de Mallorca as
a suspect on April 27, according to a ruling provided by the
High Court of Justice of the Balearic Islands today.

Urdangarin, a former Olympic handball player, is a suspect
in a fraud, embezzlement and money laundering probe that focuses
on the non-profit Noos Institute, which was founded to make
Spanish companies more competitive. The institute, where
Urdangarin was chairman, won 5.8 million euros ($7.45 million)
of contracts from the regional governments of Valencia and the
Balearic Islands between 2004 and 2007 without participating in
a competitive tender, ABC newspaper reported last year.

“The daughter of the king will be sat in the dock as a
suspect,” said Miguel Bernad, secretary of Manos Limpias, the
Madrid-based public workers union that filed a private
prosecution against Urdangarin.

A spokesman for the royal family, who asked not to be
identified by name in line with its policy, declined to comment
when contacted by telephone today. The decision to call the
princess as a suspect to answer questions on her involvement in
Noos can be appealed.

Judge Castro said in his ruling there was a “series of
indications” that made it doubtful that the princess was
unaware of how her husband used her presence on the board to
promote Noos.

He said it was necessary to avoid a “false closure” to
the case that risked “discrediting the maxim that justice is
equal for everyone.”